


Moon Ball

by TheLonelySniper



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Achieve Boys Are Single For The Purpose of This Story, Amnesia, Angst and Feels, Be Careful What You Wish For, F/M, Mentions of Trevor Collins/Barbara Dunkelman, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 20:32:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16332968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelySniper/pseuds/TheLonelySniper
Summary: When a rouge Moon Ball leaves you struggling to recall events from well over a year ago, you find yourself having to decide between trying to remember your past vs. forgetting it entirely. The pain from that day isn't just physical and you're left feeling trapped on a roller coaster of emotional twists and turns. You don't know the people who were once closest to you and the doctors aren't sure that you ever will. What would it take to remember who you are? Who can you trust when everyone around you is a stranger?





	1. Chapter One

You shift your glasses slightly higher onto the bridge of your nose as you carefully edit one of the newest Achievement Hunter GMod Let’s Play videos. You weren’t really sure you understood the premise of the game but with Geoff screaming almost constantly that he wasn't the murderer, you knew it was content worthy to be sure. You yourself were thrown into giggling fits at the shenanigans your friends would get into in the game and can't help but belt out a laugh when you hear your favorite Hunter crack a joke or scream wildly as they try to get away from the others. 

You’ve been sitting for about two hours on the computer, mainly cycling through the six video captures and trying to stamp who's screen should come up when. Your legs are growing stiff and your back is beginning to ache, not to mention your eyes were starting to grow strained from staring at a screen for so long. With a little more than half the 45 minute video edited together, you decide to get up and stretch for a bit. Take a walk and get something to eat. You tell your co-editor, Matt Bragg, that you would be back in a few minutes and ask if he wants anything to drink from the break room. He shakes his head and tells you to be back soon- the video needed to be finished before you went home today. You check your watch before exiting the office and begin making your way through the hallway towards the break room. 

The nice thing about your office was that it was only a few steps away from said break room. Or rather, it wasn’t really a break room at all to be honest. It was actually just a kitchen tucked into one side of the large hallway. Nonetheless, the kitchen still held the title of a “break room” and you loved it. Ever since you were officially sworn into the editing crew at Achievement Hunter, this was one of your favorite places to kill time and catch up with your coworkers. Back then it was fun, exciting even. You got to meet new people every day and see what crazy new production ideas where being readied to film. 

But as of lately something has changed. The office vibrates with a certain intensity that makes you struggle not to look over your shoulder. After everything that happened? Let’s just say that it was probably best not to loiter around the kitchen too long and risk running into anyone. But for now, you were hungry and so to the break room you go.

And as fate would have it, today wasn’t your lucky day.

As you round the corner to approach the kitchen, you spot a familiar form standing along the wall, a coffee cup in one hand and a phone in the other. You freeze in your spot, partly in horror and partly in rage. Of all the places to stand around waiting, he had to pick the one area you were known to go, didn’t he? 

You begin to retreat and scurry back to the office when Trevor glances up from his phone, spotting you in an instant. You force a scowl, a pit of anger balling in your stomach. Well...looks like you wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon now...

The uneasiness in both of your eyes is mutual. You slowly make your way over, boxing out your frame to look more intimidating. He doesn’t react. After a period of tense silence, he's the first to say anything, his voice full of disdain.

“(F/N).”

“What do you want?”

He rolls his eyes with a huff. “Well good morning to you too.”

You cross your arms. “Well if you wanted to say hello, just say hello next time instead of my name. Wouldn't want you to mix it up again.”

He visibly stiffens and his face turns hard. “Are you kidding me? You're still upset about that?”

You shake your head in disbelief and push passed him to the kitchen island, refusing to look at him. 

“Don’t you have something better to do? Like a meeting or something stupid?” you mutter. He follows behind a few steps, almost bristling in anger.

“They aren’t stupid. Maybe if you came to some of them it would make work a lot easier to-”

“Yeah, sure, and watch you sticking your tongue down your new girlfriends throat? Yeah, that’d be a real treat.”

Trevor stands there, silently fuming, before finally letting out a growl. With it, he turns on his heels and retreats down the hall, his footsteps clamoring loudly against the thin plastered walls. You wait for the noise to die down before checking to see if he was gone.

He was.

You sigh, hugging your arms to your chest to try and control the overwhelming sensation of fury that rocked your core. With a shaky nod to no one in particular, you decide to try and focus instead on making a simple cup of coffee. You could really use the caffeine right now. 

The kitchen is empty, which is good considering you would be the talk of the week if someone had witnessed that. _No more attention_ , you think, _I can't stand anymore attention around here_. You fix a quick cup of your favorite brew and take a seat at the island, pulling out your phone and opening your gallery app. The first thing you see is his stupid face. You scowl again, a very becoming feature of yours, and angrily tap on all the photos of you and him together: a total of over two hundred pictures. Then you tap the trash can icon without a second thought, watching the phone freeze for a second before showing a check that the deletion had gone through. 

You thought the act would've given at least some satisfaction but it doesn't. Instead you sit there, staring at your phone and wishing for the entire last year of your life to never have happened. For you to never have met him. For you to never have fallen in love with him. And surely for you to never have walked in on him and-

You shake your head. No. You didn’t want to remember that right now. Tears were already pricking your eyes and you quickly try to hide a sniffle at the memory. Oh, how you just wanted to forget... 

The sound of some of your other coworker’s voices filter into the hallway, making their way towards where you sat. You decide that it was time to start heading back. You couldn’t let anyone see you on the verge of tears right now. It wouldn’t be pretty. 

You pick up your cup of coffee and head back to the office you shared with Matt and a few other editors. You punch in the code and step in, surprised to find yourself alone in the room. 

Huh. Where did everyone go?

You cross over to your desk and plop down in your office chair, the vibrations toppling your prized purple stuffed animal off the top of your monitor. It hits your desk with a soft thud. You stare at it sadly before finally sighing and grabbing it. With your fingers brushing through the soft fur, you observe the one possession that you decorated your desk with in your hands. 

To anyone else in your office, it didn’t seem to have much significance or value. It was clearly manufactured to cost a dollar and last a week. But to you, it was more than that. Shortly after your last relationship ended in tatters, your favorite achievement hunter had platonically taken you out to a local state fair to help you try and move past the breakup. 

It was the end of the night and the two of you had gone over to a booth that was about to close. It was the typical “throw a dart and pop a balloon to win a prize” type game. You had teased him that he couldn't possibly get it on the first try and as if taking it as a challenge, he smirked and without even looking, landed a direct hit on a half inflated balloon. Even the carnie looked impressed. 

It didn't help that he kept his eyes on you while he did it. It brought back an old familiar feeling in your chest and a noticeable blush on your cheeks. 

The carnie handed him the same stuffed creature that now resides on your desk, a reminder of sorts of that one fun night that finally helped bring you out of your post relationship depression. And started your new crush pandemic.

Your sigh brings you back to reality and you place the animal back atop your monitor. This crush couldn't stay a secret forever, you knew, but at least for now it was yours and only yours to know about.

You shift your attention back to the screen, ready to begin work again.

What? 

You stare over your computer screen in disbelief. Where the hell had your file gone? 

The screen is completely blank. Any evidence of a half completed video was wiped away leaving only the basic unfilled editing template in its place. You blink wildly. No. No no no no no!!

This video was due at the end of the day! Where the hell did it go?! 

You glance around for clues- anything to explain a possible tampering or power surge. 

Nothing looks suspicious. 

You grow furious. There had to be an explanation! 

But nothing stood out. What should you do?! You couldn't report to Trevor that you lost all your work, not after what just happened at the kitchen! You refused.

And so you grab your key card and rush out of the office to find Matt- he had to know something! He was the only other person in the office! You check other editing offices first, then the breakroom, then the stage, before you finally find yourself outside the Achievement Hunter office.

You swallow hard. Behind the door comes bellowing cheers and screams and...was that glass breaking? You sigh and begin putting in your code, praying that you weren't interrupting a video. 

What day did they film AHWU again?

You don't get the chance to find out. The second you open the door and step inside, you hear a scream.

"MOONBALL!"

You only see a brief flash of blue before you're nailed in the forehead by a heavy object! The force sends you stumbling back and you slip, nailing the back of your head and spine on the wall-length shelf behind you! Mortified cries ring out but it’s impossible to hear them over the ringing in your ears. You let out a pained scream but its quickly cut short as something from the top of the shelf comes toppling down, nailing you once again in the head!

You crumble, vision cutting to black.

***

When you finally open your eyes, a group of blurs have surrounded your vision. They move sporadically, going up and down and diagonally, side to side. The motion makes you sick. You try to move but find yourself on your back. One of the blurs pushes down on your chest. They seem to be saying something but the words come out like they're in a tunnel. You furrow your brows at them. Then you turn your head slightly, trying to look around.

Where were you? 

Your hearing slowly starts to warp back and you hear slightly muffled screaming, "Turn off the camera!" And "What the hell?! Who did that?!"

"What was she thinking!"

You try to focus on the blur before you to no avail. The pain in and around the back of your head is agonizing and it appeared to be messing with your vision. The blur before you was a person, sure. But who?

You shakily reach around for something when your hand brushes some broken glass to your right. You look over. 

A pair of badly damaged glasses lay on the ground beside you. You wince. Were those yours?

You turn to look back at the foggy shape in front of you. 

“Wh-what happened?” You stutter out, your speech coming out slurred and weak.

The blur over you shifts slightly, “You got hit pretty good with a moonball.”

“A what now?”

Before he could answer the other blurs suddenly joined the first, bending down to your level.

“(F/N), are you okay? How do you feel?”

"Everything hurts," you choke out, "It really hurts.”

"Any spot in particular hurt the most?"

"M-my head. It stings."

You blink shut your eyes, clenching your jaw tightly to try and manage an oncoming wave of pain. A hand appears on your cheek followed by a voice you don’t recognize,

"Hey, I need you to relax okay? You don't want to strain yourself."

"I'm fine," you muster out, "I'm fine. I just want to sit up."

"Should we move her to the couch?" An accented voice chirps.

"I don't think she should be moved at all," a deeper voice responds, "I saw her hit her neck on the shelf."

There's murmured cursing around the room. The first blob looks down at you again.

"Do you feel okay to get up?"

"Yes." You respond without hesitation, not even thinking about how many warning signs were telling how bad of an idea that was.

There's a nervous sigh, "Alright, how about we just move her to the couch and she can lay down on the cushions?"

Everyone mummers out agreements and you get flanked on two sides. Hands slip under your head, back, and legs. 

"On three: one, two, three."

You feel yourself being lifted up from the floor then, “SHIT! Put her down! Put her down!!”

You are quickly placed back on the floor, this time a little less than gracefully. You cry out in pain as the hard floor meets your spine. 

“What! What! Why did we put her down?”

Someone brushes your hair back near your neck. A thick tension falls over the room.

“Holy shit…” Someone whispers.

“Wha-” You see red. Red on the finger of whoever reached behind you. They quickly hide their hand behind their back but you already drew the correct conclusions.

That was blood.

That was _your_ blood.

“Somebody call 911! We don’t know how serious this is!”

It’s at that moment that a door to the room opens and you can hear a male laughing. All eyes turn to him, even yours even though you can’t see him clearly. A tall, lanky figure steps into the room holding some tan-colored squares. They make it maybe a few steps inside before they pause, seeing all eyes on him, and he notices you on the ground. 

He screams your name, dropping all the boxes to the ground and rushes to your side, bending down and frantically scanning over your form.

“What happened to her?!”

Everyone suddenly isn’t sure what to say. They flinch under his gaze and take a few steps away from you. The man beside you holds the side of your head, trying to look in your eyes.

“(F/N), can you hear me? Are you hurt?”

You flinch away, the sheer volume of his shout like a howl from a rabid dog in your head. 

“Trevor- she’s bleeding- We need to call an ambulance.”

“Fuck,” he breathes, noticing something at the base of your skull. He quickly backs up to his feet and pulls out a small black object from his pocket. He holds it up to his ear and paces frantically around the room.

“Yes, hi, I’d like to report an emergency!” He says into the object you guessed was a phone while he exits the room as suddenly as he came in.

Your teeth are chattering and you turn to look at the other closest person to you. 

“What’s going to happen to me?” You whimper.

“We’re going to get you help, I promise (F/N). Just try not to move for now, okay?”

“You know my name...” you mutter helplessly as you stare up at him, “How do you know my name?” 

The question appears to catch him off guard. He glances between you and the others. His expression turns stern.

“(F/N), do you know who I am?”

You stare at them, squinting your eyes as you try to will yourself to recognize them. Will for their face to make sense to you. But nothing comes up. You frown and minimally shake your head. “Should I?”

A round of nausea swarms over you and your trembles get worse. You raise a hand to your mouth to avoid puking right there. Your vision goes cross eyed and refuses to focus on anything now. You stare around in utter panic. What was happening?!

You frantically move your hands around until another pair, much larger than yours, grab on. You squeeze tightly. “I can’t see!” you start to cry, “Why can’t I see?” 

“Shh, it’s alright- it’s going to be alright. Stay with me okay? Stay with me.”

You roll your head around, just trying to focus on something- anything! Another pair of hands grab your head, holding you still. 

“Don’t do that!” they scold, “Try not to move!”

“Trevor is calling the ambulance now, it’s going to be alright.” The other voice jumps in.

“Who?”

Both hands tense and you could only imagine a shocked look pass between the two males holding you down. You squeeze the hand you were holding tighter, the pain packing a one-two punch straight against the back of your skull. Everything starts going black and voices become nothing more than a fog of distorted echos. 

They try to talk to you, tell you to stay awake, but you’re already slipping away into unconsciousness. 

There’s shouts once more throughout the room but you can’t tell where they’re coming from. Everything is quickly fading away and suddenly the room is cold. You can’t feel anything. 

You black out once again.


	2. Chapter Two

_“I told you guys that you were going to get someone hurt someday.”_

_“In all fairness, we thought you were the one who walked through the door. We were going to try and scare you.”_

_“Yeah, genius. So who threw the ball?”_

...

***

You weren’t sure what woke you up first: the steady beeping of a machine or the splitting pain in your head. 

You blink open your eyes, groaning to yourself as bright light filters in. Your senses begin to start following lead, each slowly returning to you as though they had to first cross a fog to get to you. With feeling returning to your lower and upper body, you shakily start to sit up, the thin mattress underneath you crinkling in protest. 

Unfortunately, it appears that you had moved too quickly, the movement triggering something deep inside you. Just as you finish sitting up, you’re already frantically moving around to find something to throw up in. The nausea overwhelms you and your movements, while clumsy and weak, do end up finding a small circular dish that had been placed in your lap. Your body wastes no time in putting it to use. 

It’s not pretty and it takes a few coughs and sputters before it's over. The taste of the acid burns on your tongue and at the back of your throat. You lean away from the dish, hacking quietly and bringing a hand to your mouth to compose yourself. Only once the wave of sickness passes do you finally look up. 

This didn’t look like your bedroom…

Where were you? 

The room is white. That’s it, there’s really nothing else you could really say about it other than that it was a bright white room. Your vision still isn’t at a hundred percent but from what you can mentally piece together, it would appear that you were in a hospital bedroom. A jumble of dark browns formed what you guessed were some cabinets to your left and a glowing square to your right told you where the sunlight was filtering in through a window. At the feet of your bed sat a couple of whitish-tan blobs lined up against the wall. Chairs maybe? 

A funny feeling appears back in your stomach but this time it isn’t from nausea.

...Why were you here?

_Think, (F/N), think. How did you get here? What happened?_

You try to remember how you could have got here. Were you in some automobile accident? No, you didn’t appear to have any injuries on you, at least none you could see at the moment. So then, did you have a stroke or something? Maybe...But that still didn’t make much sense. You were perfectly healthy! Or...Were you?

All this thinking is stirring a headache deep within your skull. You sigh and feel it as it nags somewhere behind your eyes. You reach up to try and rub them when your hand is suddenly tugged. You glance down. What the-?

You find yourself tethered to a towering silver machine beside the bed. A needle is inserted into the back of your hand and you trace the small tube back to a drip bag half-full of clear liquid. You shudder. 

The sight itself might have made you more sick if you hadn't just thrown up a few minutes ago. 

There’s a heavy knock on the wall and you snap your attention towards where it came from, regretting the movement as a sting of pain responds in your back. The wall in front of your bed appears to move and a new, distorted blur appears. 

“Good morning, Ms. (L/N).” A voice cheerfully calls as the figure enters the room, shutting what you now realized as a door behind him. “My name is Dr. Meed. I saw your levels rise and wanted to check if you were awake.”

The man crosses over to you and you recognize the familiar appearance of a doctor’s coat come into focus. You search his face questioningly.

“Where am I?” Your voice comes out hoarse and scratchy. 

Dr. Meed offers an apologetic expression before pulling a seat over to the side of your bed. He sits down and places a folder on the blanket. 

“You’re currently at the Seton Medical Center in Austin. You arrived yesterday afternoon with a traumatic blow to your head as well as a laceration on the base of your scalp.”

What? Your mouth hangs open at the news. Fear begins to creep in. Did he just say you were in Austin? As in Austin Texas?

“W-was I in an accident?”

“Of sorts yes,” he admits, glancing down at the folder and giving it a soft tap, “But for now I would like to run a quick exam if that’s alright with you.”

“Um...Sure.”

“Wonderful.” 

The doctor opens up the folder and clicks his pen. He then stands to his feet and begins moving around the bed, checking visually over your body. He brings the pen to the paper.

“Can you tell me how you feel right now? Any pain at all?”

“I feel a little dizzy and I’m really tired. My ears are ringing too.”

The doctor writes this down before bending over and glances around your eyes.

“Do you normally wear contacts or glasses? Reading glasses do count.”

You open your mouth to reply _no_ when you stop. The briefest image of a pair of shattered glasses fill your thoughts, the glass scattered all over a floor. Had those been your glasses?

You lightly shrug your shoulders at the doctor. “I might. I feel like I do but I’m not sure.”

Dr. Meed pulls out another pen-like object from his coat pocket and clicks the side of it. A small but bright light emits from the tip. He gestures to your eyes, “I’m going to check your pupils okay?”

You nod and he gently pushes you back into the bed. It’s an awkward position and you favor the lower part of your neck slightly off the pillow while he clicks a light and sweeps it over your pupils. After a few seconds, he pulls away and writes something down in the folder. 

“Good, good. That’s a good start.” He straightens and puts the pen away. He then pulls on a pair of gloves. “I’m going to feel around your head, alright? I want you to tell me if anything hurts.”

He carefully runs his fingers around your head, checking the sides of your skull. As he nears the back of your head, you suddenly jump, extreme pain burrowing into your body! You cry out for him to stop!

The doctor pulls away, face hardening in concern. “What hurt?”

“M-my neck,” you stammer out. “My neck really hurts.”

Dr. Meed moves to the back of your bed and pulls up some of your hair. He bends down, examining the area of pulsating pain. Then he pulls away.

“That’s your laceration. When you sustained the hit to the back of your spine, it tore a good chunk of skin. We were able to patch up most of it in surgery but it will take some time to heal.” He moved back to your side nonchalantly, as if those words weren’t supposed to terrify you, “Okay, this part of the exam won’t involve any touching, I promise. I just need you to answer a few questions for me-” 

“Doc, do you know what happened to me? Was I in an accident?” You insist.

“I promise I will answer your questions soon enough. But first, I really need to do this exam okay?”

He waits for your nod before pointing down at a box on the page of the folder.

“Can you tell me your full name?”

“(F/N) (L/N).”

“Good, good. Can you tell me how old you are and one of your hobbies?”

“I’m twenty four years old.”

The doctor waits a long second before nodding and writing something down on the paper. He flips to the next page. 

“Can you tell me how long you’ve lived in Austin? Or when you first started working here?”

“I don’t...I don’t live in Austin?” You whisper uneasily, watching the doctor for a sign that he was joking. Why would he ask something like that? Of course you didn’t live here! But...wait...how did you get here then? 

“Do you think you can you tell me where you’re from then?” 

“Indiana. I live there with my parents.” Your voice is lacking confidence now. You almost have to stop yourself from asking, _“Don’t I?”_

The doctor sees your terror and nods understandingly. “It’s alright,” he assures, “this is completely normal. Just a few more questions alright?” 

But you didn’t want to answer anymore questions. You didn’t know if you could. But then the doctor asks the biggest question that you yourself were dying to know.

“What is the last thing you remember?”

You want to cry. And you finally do. 

“I-I don’t know.” You whimper, tears free falling down your cheeks. “I have no idea!”

The doctor quickly moves to sit by you on the bed and takes your hand in his. He quietly comforts you and tells you that it was going to be alright- everything was going to be alright. It’s not instant- it takes a little bit- but after a few minutes you finally let out one last sniffle. The doctor glances at the door then back to you.

“Would you like to know what happened?” He asks softly.

You nod eagerly, even though the action sends painful spurs through your head. Dr. Meed stands and walks to the door, and you’re sure he was about to just up and leave you, when he sticks his head out and calls for someone. A moment later, a tall blur enters the doorway. They look over at you and you can see their face melt into relief. They cross over and squat down next to you by the bed so you’re the same height. 

“Oh thank God, how are you feeling (F/N)?”

“I’m...I’m fine.” You struggle out. Why was he so close to you?

The man offers a small smile then turns toward the doctor. “Is she going to be okay?”

The doctor doesn’t smile back and that seems to unsettle the new guy. Tension falls over the room as Dr. Meed takes a seat and the man joins in a chair beside him. 

“It’s still too early to make any official diagnosis but as of right now, it appears that your friend has some mild brain trauma,” he confesses, “It’s not unusual considering the damage she went through but it is concerning. She’s able to remember some things but if I’m to be completely forward with you, that blow to her head did a number on her memory.”

“...What is that supposed to mean?”

“Put plainly, she’s got amnesia. After everything you’ve told me, I would guess that it’s about a year's-worth of storage that’s gone.”

The man’s face shares the same level of terror that you were struggling to hide inside. He eyes the doctor desperately. “Isn’t there something you can do about it?”

“I wish there was. Right now there’s no telling when or if she’s ever going to get those memories back. We don’t even know if more memories are going to be pulled.” He then holds up his hands as if to defend himself, “But like I said, it’s still too early to determine anything.”

“If she’s lost almost a year...that would mean…” the man says aloud but to himself. He shakes his head and turns back to the doctor. “What can I do to help?”

Dr. Meed stands to his feet and tucks the folder under his arm. “Get her friends together. Be proactive. Show her pictures of things she would know about- everything that happened in the last year or so. Tell her places she’s gone or things she’s done. It’s possible that she may even start to remember and get her memories back.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Dr. Meed looks at him sadly, "Then there’s nothing anyone can do.”

With a small swivel of the heels, Dr. Meed starts to leave the room. "I'll give you two some time to catch up." And with that the door clicks quietly shut behind him. 

The man watches the door silently, eyes willing it to open again to more answers. But it remains shut. Then, 

“Where you there?”

“Huh?” he turns to face you quizzically. 

You tilt your head, “Where you there? Do you know what happened to me?”

His eyes lock with yours and he suddenly looks hesitant. He clasps his hands in his lap, rubbing one of his thumbs over the other. You take note of how clearly unsettled he is.

“You...you walked into a room where a couple coworkers were messing around,” he says almost bitterly, “They threw something and it hit you.”

“...That’s it?”

He furrows his brows at your lackluster response. “What?”

You run a hand through your hair nervously. "Well- I just meant-um...I don't know." You let out a small laugh. "I was scared I might have been in a car accident or something. But I guess this is probably way better."

Your words only seem to make him more worried. He opens then shuts his mouth multiple times, unable to decide how to respond to that. _Oof, he probably feels really awkward right now...I should probably ask him some questions to get off this subject._

“So um, I hate to ask this but...Who are you?”

The man looks upset but smiles through it, like he had been expecting the question to come up. “My name is Trevor. We used to-” he seems to catch himself. “We... we work at Rooster Teeth together. I’m your friend.”

You stare at him.

“Oh.” 

He suddenly looks like he remembered something, “I swung by your house earlier and grabbed your extra pair.” He hands you a small object and you study them in your hands. Were these…? Yes! They were a mirror image of those glasses you had seen in that flashback! So then these were yours? You do wear glasses!

You excitedly pull them on, the entire world coming back into focus so fast it almost hurt. You turn to thank the man when you freeze. 

You knew him.

But...you didn’t. His coffee eyes cling to yours, igniting a sensation of emotion within you. But trying to decipher what emotion it is was like trying to grab a cloud of smoke. There was something there- a memory maybe? Your brain strains to remember, to touch something just out of its reach! But couldn’t grab it. You study him in interest. He doesn’t seem to notice your gaze though, his eyes instead falling to the bed. 

“I uh...I should probably deliver the news to the others. Everyone’s been really worried about you.” he pauses, adding, “I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

He starts to stand when you flash your arm out to catch his hand. The both of you freeze as your skin collides. You squeeze his palm tightly.

“Please...Don’t leave me.”

He slowly looks back at you, eyes flashing first to your hands then to your eyes. He looks like he's about to start shaking...There’s something about the way he was looking at you. The two of you must have been very close friends... 

He turns back to you and leans down. A beat passes then he slowly raises a hand and places it on the side of your cheek. His lip trembles.

“I won’t leave you, (F/N).”

The air around you blossoms with this overwhelming feeling of security. You were safe with him, you know it. The position between you two is held for a few more seconds before he finally leans away, the warmth of his hand falling from your face as it returns to his side. He forces a smile. “I’m just stepping out to make a call. I’ll be right back, I promise.”

And before you could reach out to stop him again, beg him to stay, he’s already retreating out of the room. You eye him as he leaves, a growing feeling of restlessness appear in your core.

_It’s okay_ , you think to yourself, _he’s just stepping out for a moment. He’ll be right back._

The headache that had been remaining dormant was finally resurfacing. You lay back into the bed and tilt your head against the pillow. Wariness was returning over your body once more and you struggle to stay awake. Maybe a little nap wouldn’t hurt. When you wake up maybe he’ll already be back, right by your side!

The thought makes you smile weakly. You close your eyes and allow the fatigue to take over, using the steady beeping of the machine beside you as a lull to transport yourself into a deep, pleasant sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! What else can I say? I didn't expect this to be such a hit right off the bat! Thank you guys so much for all the kudos and comments and all your support! I will try to deliver this cute fluff of a story as much as I can so hopefully you guys continue to enjoy it! 
> 
> (Also I think this new guy might have some unresolved feelings toward you, don't cha think? *winks*)


	3. Chapter Three

The first thing you see upon waking up the next morning is a man right beside you.

You inhale a scream, trying not to make a sound. When he doesn’t react to you jumping, you cautiously lean forward to check over him. The male is fast asleep in one of the chairs, with his upper body bent over the side of the hospital bed and his head resting by your knees. His eyes are closed. You hold a hand to your parted lips, realizing now that this was the same guy from yesterday. 

You guess that he must’ve stayed with you the entire night. It does take a moment but once you calm down a little more you set aside the alarm remote attached to your bed and study him over curiously. The amount of concern he had for you was something else entirely and, even as the doctor comes in not too long after, you feel compelled to stay by his side.

Trevor stirs at the low voice of Doctor Meed. He blinks his eyes open and lifts his head to look around. For a second you see the same confusion you had in his eyes upon waking up. But it disappears as quickly as it came when his eyes fall on the doctor. You remain quiet as he wearily asks Meed to repeat himself.

“I was just telling her that she is free to leave now. A nurse will come in to get her dressed momentarily.”

Trevor looks startled. “But she hasn’t gotten her memory back yet?”

“And she’s not going to find it here,” the doctor replies, “Go and take her home. Show her around. Let her gain it back on her own and in her own time. You can’t rush these things.”

His footsteps echo as he leaves once more, the door quietly shutting behind him. Now alone in the room, Trevor turns his attention to you. He observes you quizzically.

“Do you remember who I am?”

You nod, feeling the stiffness in your neck light up. “Kinda hard to forget someone like you. Trevor, right?”

A small smile tugs at his lips. He then sits up, stretching back his arms over his head and emits a yawn.

“Mhmm,” he answers afterword, “At least you’re able to remember that.”

“Hopefully more will come back soon. I’m curious to see what my life has been like for the past few months.”

“I can tell you all about it when I take you home,” he promises.

Home. What a strange reality to not know where you live. Not know what your house looks like. Your gaze falls off to the side. Do you live alone or did you have roommates? Do you live in an apartment? A mansion?

You let out a low chuckle at that.

A knock on the door draws both of your attentions. An older woman with straight blonde hair tied up in a ponytail pops into view. She calls out that she’s here to help you get ready to check out. Trevor stands to his feet and slides his hands into his pants pockets. He looks down at you.

“I’ll go ahead and give you some privacy. I’ll be in the hallway.”

You didn’t want him to go. But you had a feeling he wasn’t just going to ditch you now after he spent an entire night by your side. So you watch silently as he exits the room and the nurse takes his spot.

She introduces herself as she does a quick examination over your neck. As expected, your wound had done a good job of scabbing over the threads. While she assists you out from the covers and onto your feet, she lists off a few ways for you to take care of yourself while it healed further. 

Your mind only half listens to what she’s saying, the other half trying desperately hard to maintain your balance. Despite it only having been two days since you last walked, anyone watching might’ve assumed this was your first time walking at all!

The nurse helps ease you back into a sitting position on the bed. Once sure you weren’t going to fall, she pulls out a bag to reveal some clothes. As she helps you out of the hospital gown and into the light grey sweatpants, you ask where she got them from. 

“Your friend left not too long after your surgery the other day,” she answers simply, “He’d been glued to your side since the moment you arrived so a few nurses and I told him to go get some fresh air and bring some supplies for when you woke up. It’s something we do to get the friends and family to focus on something other than the stress of being in the emergency room.”

Just as you finish pulling on a loose-fitting t-shirt, the nurse crosses back over the room and opens the door. She sticks her head out and calls Trevor back in. He reappears in the doorway, placing his phone in his pocket and locks eyes on you. You feel a warm glow pass through you as he offers out a hand,

“Ready?”

***

So... this is Austin, Texas.

It’s warmer than you expected.

You stare out the window of Trevor’s silver sedan at the lively city life outside. Towering buildings surround the car, as well as multiple shopping centers and car dealerships. You watch, mesmerized at the sheer difference between life here in the city and life over in the backwoods of Indiana. 

Inside the car, it’s quiet conversationally. Trevor mainly focuses on driving while you pay attention to this new world you were in. The car radio sings softly in the background as the car continues through a highly modernized, metropolitan area. People are out and about on the sidewalks talking on phones or with friends, some holding shopping bags and others holding hands with their partners.

A rush of curiosity strikes you as you spot a couple making out not-so-subtly on a park bench. Were you dating someone? 

A new question pops into your head and you glance to Trevor. Was _he_ dating someone?

You try to think back in time when you lived in Indiana- a time that only seemed like it had been yesterday or so. You bite your lip. Any memories you try to force were just fog. You remembered your parents...a small home the three of you shared...but that was about it. There were no exact details. Nothing that really stood out. Which...maybe meant there was potential for a boyfriend...or girlfriend, who knows?

At least you weren’t married right?

Right?

“Hey,” Trevor suddenly says, pointing to your right, “Look over there. That’s where we work.”

You perk up, dismissing the relationship status question and switching your attention back out the window.

A number of large white buildings stretch out from the other side of the glass. Your eyes widen. Did you work in some Hollywood-like warehouse place? This looked like the kind of site where movies were filmed!

“Does it look familiar to you at all?” Trevor asks carefully.

You shake your head, watching the building pass and grow more and more distant in the side mirror until it’s out of sight. “Not really, no.”

“Oh…”

“Sorry, I know that’s probably not encouraging to hear. If you don’t mind, what exactly do I do there?”

“You?” He seems to think about it. “Well you’re an editor for one of our production crews. You handle the smaller scale episodes and videos we release. You’re actually pretty good at what you do. I’m sure you would’ve started doing large scale episodes but after the accident-”

“What about it?”

“Well...You might not be able to handle it.” He finishes. “Hopefully you’re okay and your skills will return to normal but...”

“Do you think they will?”

He hesitates. Then, “Without a doubt.”

But his expression said contrary.

“So this production crew I edit for,” you mutter, trying to move to a different subject, “I want to assume they are the same coworkers who landed me in the hospital?”

“You assume correctly.”

“Hm. And what about you? What do you do there?”

“I’m the manager and supervising producer of the same guys. My job is pretty much to make sure everyone else is doing their job. On top of going to meetings, and discussing release schedules, and so on.”

Your mouth falls open. “Whoa, wait, so you’re like a big shot manager?”

“I wouldn’t phrase it like that, no. It’s more like I’m there to try and keep the building from burning down.”

“How’s that working out so far?”

He doesn’t respond. Only chuckles lightly to himself.

The car goes quiet after that. 

***

A little while later, Trevor finally pulls off the highway onto a small side road. Houses suddenly pop up, small to medium sized family homes lining along both sides of the road. You smile to yourself. They were kinda cute. 

Your anticipation begins to skyrocket. The houses may not be what you expected but these were already exceeding your expectations. Whatever they were.

The car slows and Trevor flips on the blinker. Moving back, you can’t help but stare as a large mass appears from out behind a row of large trees. You gasp lightly at the sight. Trevor pulls into the short driveway and throws the gear into park. 

Before you, a few meters behind a mowed lawn, sat a two-story home. Part of the front is creamy white-colored brick while the other half is made of a light blue wood paneling. A well-tamed garden rides the left side of the patio leading up to a dark brown door hidden under a large archway.

You stare at it as if in a daze as Trevor switches off the ignition. His nervous features look over at you expectantly.

“Well?”

You shake your head.

He sighs, “Right...Don’t worry about it too much, okay? You only moved to Austin a little over a year ago so it’s not surprising that you can’t remember this place. Why don’t we go ahead and take a look inside? Maybe something will click then.”

You both unbuckle your seat belts and exit the car. You follow him hesitantly up to the front door where he fishes out a key from his pocket and slides it into the lock above the door knob. It clicks open with ease. Trevor steps away and gestures for you to do the honors. You hold his gaze for a moment before moving close to the door. 

This was it. 

A small bubble of excitement grows in your chest. You were going to see where you’ve been living for a year of your unknown life.

You take the door knob, feeling the smooth metal in your palm, and gently twist. The door creaks as it swings open. With a timid shaky breath, you take a step into the house.

Trevor follows you inside, turning around with his keys jingling as he hangs them up on a key rack by the front door. He then follows you further into the walkway.

“So this is the entry. Over there is the living room and down that hallway is the kitchen. Not bad huh?”

“Not at all,” you can feel yourself beaming, “It’s a lot bigger in here than it looks on the outside. And it’s very beautiful.”

“You think so?” He asks.

Moving through the hallway into the living room you notice a small stairway tucked into the side of the wall, a hidden staircase of sorts. You point to it.

“Does that go to the bedroom?”

“Two of them, yes. I think you turned the second room into an office though.”

You pause, now frowning. Trevor catches your eye and raises an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

“Is one of the bedrooms grey?”

He freezes, holding your gaze for a long moment. Then he nods.

“Y-yeah, your bedroom. You remember that?”

_Holy shit._

You raise a hand to your forehead, letting out a breathy smile. “I...I do! But it feels like a scratch. In my head I mean. Like I was upset about the color or something?”

“That’s...not too far off from what happened actually.” 

“Can I go see it?” You ask in excitement, “I think I might remember more if I do.”

He motions for you to follow him. The two of you climb the stairs to the second story where you’re met with three doors. Trevor points to one as the spare bathroom, then another as your office, until he points out the last door as your bedroom. You walk over and reach out, opening the door eagerly. 

Oh.

Well...Not what you expected.

It’s messy- not at all like how the rest of the house appeared. Clothes are strewn over the ground and the bed covers are ruffled up and pushed off to one side. A few too many used tissues remain by a trash can in the corner. You frown.

This wasn’t a great sign…

Trevor doesn’t look pleased either. In fact, he doesn’t really look at the room at all. His eyes take a skydive to the floor when he realizes the state. You blush, embarrassed, and push him and yourself back out, closing the door behind you.

“Well uh, I guess I should probably see the rest of the house. Can we look at the other rooms?”

“Sure.” He responds quickly, almost as ready as you to get away from the bedroom. “Nothing memorable in there?”

You don’t answer.

As he opens the door to the other room, you glance back at your bedroom. You would just have to check that one out on your own. 

The office he shows you isn’t anything fancy, just a simple room coated in a beige color with a desk and some computer equipment off to one side. Decorative lights are strung up around the window and above the two monitors. A roller chair sits tucked neatly under the wooden desk. While it may not be much, you still find it pleasing to the eye. It’s homey in a way. 

Yet strangely enough, even from merely standing in the doorway, you felt like something was off. Almost as if the room is empty or wrong somehow. 

You glance at Trevor before stepping inside to get a better feel, not noticing that he doesn’t follow. The wood under the carpet creaks softly as you step over to the desk. Reaching down, you run your fingers over the wood. You tilt your head curiously.

“This might be a weird question but...Is something missing in here?”

“I don’t think so? What makes you think that?”

Your eyes drift to the bare wall beside the desk. There had been something there, you were sure of it. You squint. The itch only grows stronger but there’s no way of scratching it. You sigh heavily.

It's like Meed said. Maybe it’ll come back on it’s own.

You give the desk one final brush with your hand before moving back to Trevor and giving him a half-hearted nod. “I’m ready to go back downstairs if that’s okay.”

He lays a reassuring hand on your shoulder before turning and leading the way back downstairs. You follow quietly, mind still wondering back to the two rooms. Why were those the only things you could remember? And it wasn't even really remembering! It was more like flashes of emotion. Being upset about a paint color and something that wasn’t even there? 

Your excitement was turning to frustration.

There had to be more to this.

Once back on the first floor, you pause in the kitchen after stepping over toward a small dining room table in the corner.

“So hey, when do you think I could go back to work? Tomorrow, maybe? I would really love to meet everyone," you pause, then add with a small laugh, "Again, I mean,” 

Trevor begins to grin at that. You really did love the way his entire face lit up even with such a simple smile...

“And I know they’d love to see you too.” He replies, “As for tomorrow? We’ll have to wait and see. For now I want you to get settled in and rest.”

Before you can protest that you weren't tired, Trevor’s phone goes off. He checks the screen before sending you a concerned look.

“I need to answer this. Hold on okay?”

You watch him tap the screen before bringing the phone up to his ear. He moves to the next room but even then you can still hear his hushed voice as he mutters into the phone. 

“I’m sorry- yes, I’m still with her...Well I’m not just going to abandon her!...What? No! No, it’s not like that...Look...Fine, I’ll be home soon. Promise...Love you too. Bye.”

You quickly pretend to be focusing on the toaster as Trevor makes a reappearance in the kitchen. He forces a smile. 

“Looks like I’d better get going.”

“So soon?”

“Unfortunately. But here,” he walks over and hands you something, “this is your cell phone. I’ll be calling every few hours to check on you, okay? Keep it close by. As well, I re-added my contact information to your phone- it must’ve gotten deleted somehow- but all that’s to say that it should be one of the first numbers to pop up.” 

“Alright, thanks mom.” You playfully mumble with a roll of your eyes. Then you turn serious. “Thank you again. I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Trevor’s breath hitches and he looks away. When his gaze finally returns to you, there’s something you hadn’t expected etched deeply within his chocolate colored eyes.

Pain?

But before you could say anything, he calls out his goodbye and leaves. The front door slams shut behind him.

You flinch slightly, surprised by the hasty goodbye. You expected maybe a hug or something before he left. Then again maybe that would’ve been too much…You’re only friends after all.

You turn back to look around, the house suddenly feeling a lot more lonely.

“Well...What now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to everyone for reading! I'm so glad that a lot of you really like the story so far and I'm excited to keep writing it! I know this chapter is probably a little over-due but Thanksgiving Break and family and all takes a lot of time. Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things sooner than later.
> 
> Anyway! Thanks again for all the kudos and comments. I love seeing what you guys are saying about the story. It really means a lot! You rock!


	4. Chapter Four

A series of light knocks echo off the front door and into the house. You glance up from an old book you found and double check your watch. He's early. You fold over the top corner of the page as a bookmark and quickly stand from the couch. Brushing out your outfit, you make your way over to the door and peek out the side window. As expected, a slightly flustered Trevor awaits on the other side. You grab your house key off the hook and open the door. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“And good morning to you too, sunshine.” You quip, taking a step outside and locking the door behind you. You hand the key to Trevor.

"Here, hold onto this for me. If we could, I'd like to run to the store later and make a few copies."

Trevor sighs and tucks the key into his pocket. "Sure. But you know it's only been a few days since the accident at work. A lot of people are going to want to see you…” He hesitates. “And you're positive this is still what you want to do today? I mean we can always take a tour of Austin-”

You roll your eyes and push by him, grinning ear to ear.

“I’m sure of it.”

He sighs before reluctantly following suit. The two of you hop into his car and he begins the drive to the warehouses you had seen the other day.

What was the company called again? Rooster...Hunter? 

Well whatever it was, you can't help but grow more and more excited the closer the car got to its location. You watch the vividly green scenery pass outside the window, trying to think back to when you took this road almost every day. 

Presently, it’s been about two days since Trevor first brought you home. It was kinda like being on house arrest in a way. Self-motivated house arrest. You didn’t exactly leave the property in fear of going too far and not remembering how to get back. However, you did go out into the backyard to look around. It was a rather large yard considering the size of the house. 

_Perfect space for a dog or kids_ , you thought. Which only added to the question of why you bought such a big house in the first place. It was literally only you here so why so much room?

That question had yet to be answered. 

Trevor kept to his promise though. He probably called every hour or so just to make sure you hadn’t found a way to hurt yourself again. It was kind. At first. But after about the seventh time he called, it was on the edge of babying and you weren’t about to have that.

“Trevor, I’m a grown adult. The only thing different about me is my lapse in memory,” you told him, “You don’t need to be so worried.”

And it worked! For a little bit…

The calls started stretching to about once every three hours. And even then they had switched from making sure you were still alive to being super focused on whether you had remembered anything yet. So you decided to change the subject once more.

“When can I go back to work?” You had asked.

“Not for a long time. Why? You really want to go back there?”

“Yeah, I mean why not? Even you agreed that I apparently spent a lot of time there. I probably have a lot of memories waiting to be unearthed.”

It took some hard convincing to be honest. But after about a day of you begging to go every time he called, he finally caved in and set the date.

Which happened to be today!

You can hardly stay in your seat. Trevor glances at you from the wheel, amusement slowly growing clear on his face.

“Easy tiger, we’ll be there soon enough.”

“I can’t help it! I feel really good about today,” you gush, “I really think I might remember something.”

“Well, try to stay by my side okay? I have a list of places you usually went in the building. I figure we’ll start at the front and make our way back?”

“Sounds good to me.”

The row of white buildings you had seen the other day break through the treeline. Trevor slows down the car, flipping on the blinker and turning into the entrance. You lean forward to get a better look out the front windshield. The buildings seem to stretch over the car as you get closer and you can't help but stare up at it like a child looking at a roller coaster ride.

Trevor continues forward up to a closed gate. Rolling down the window, he scans a keycard and types in a code. It takes a second for the gate to roll open but once it is, he pulls through and takes a left around the warehouse. 

As the car approaches the parking lot, you spot a group of women talking by a smaller building with the sign "Bungalow A" on the door. Trevor spots them as well and slows down. He honks the horn playfully. The girls look up and he waves at them. One smiles. She says something to the others before making her way over. 

She appears at Trevor’s window where her eyes immediately fall on you. She offers a wave.

“Hey, (F/N). Good to see you back.” 

You suddenly feel really shy and manage a small wave in return, “Hey...”

The blonde turns her attention to Trevor. Her voice lowers. “How long are you two hanging out today?”

Trevor shrugs. “Just the day. I figure I’ll show her the office and whatnot. But I’ll be taking her home soon after so don’t worry.”

“I’m not.” She reaches in and ruffles his hair. “I’ll see you at home. Love you.”

Trevor calls out the same as she turns and heads back towards the girls. You watch her rejoin the group, the others looking strangely concerned with whatever she was telling them.

But they quickly disappear from your vision as the car continues moving once more. You look to Trevor, “Who was that?”

“Girlfriend,” he replies simply.

“Oh.”

And that was that. Trevor finishes rounding the building and pulls into a parking space. He switches off the engine and unbuckles his seatbelt before turning to you. The smile from before returns to his face.

“Last chance. You sure you want to go in?”

You force yourself to nod. Geez why were you suddenly getting so nervous?

The two of you climb out of the car and begin towards the building. Trevor approaches one door off to the side and scans his keycard once more. There’s a vibrating sound and the automatic click of the door unlocking. Trevor pulls it open and gestures for you to go first. 

You stare inside, not moving. It’s a long, empty hallway. Well, no, not empty per-say. There’s stuff everywhere: decorations, wall art, packages- a lot of stuff. But no people. 

Trevor hums to get your attention.

“You alright?”

You inwardly shake your head to return to reality. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” He presses. “You look a little pale. If you need to, I can take you back-”

Oh no. Nope, he was right. You can’t let nerves get in the way of this! You had memories to remember!

And so, without even a warning, you quickly strut into the building. You didn’t have an idea for direction or where you were going, you were just moving. Trevor has to jog to catch up to you. He holds out a hand to get you to stop, a slight laugh erupting from his chest.

“Woah, slow down there, Jason Bourne.” He points toward himself with his thumb. “I think you should let me lead the way, alright?”

You feel a bashful blush creeping onto your cheeks, “Um..right.”

Trevor takes the lead and guides you further into the building. He moves down various hallways and large areas, explaining some details here and there. You stick close to his side, glancing around frantically as you try to take it all in at once.

“And just down this hallway is where your office is,” he says. But his voice is quickly drowned out by the squeaking of the door in front of you flying open. 

You don’t have time to react before it hits you square in the shoulder and knocks you back. You manage to keep your balance but the impact from the hit sends you stumbling a few steps. 

“Oh shit, sorry!” A male’s voice quickly apologizes. 

You rub your shoulder and look up to see three men peering down at you. 

Trevor, who had been a few steps ahead, stops in his tracks to look back and see what the commotion was about. He quickly returns to your side.

The first man spouts apology after apology as he checks you over. You quickly pull away,

“Whoa, whoa it’s alright,” you say, “it was just an accident-”

Trevor joins into the group and immediately starts to do the same, “What happened? Are you hurt?”

The other members notice him and shift expressions. The two in the back smile.

“Oh hey Trevor!” The one with long hair greets, “I didn’t know you were here today. I thought you had the day off.”

“I did.” He mutters, finally pulling away once he’s sure you’re not bleeding out or something.

You glance back at the man in front of you. He still looks worried so you offer a hand.

“(F/N).”

“Huh? Oh,” He meets your hand and shakes it. “Chris Demarais-”

“Chris, way to attack the poor amnesiac.” The muscular one jokingly scolds him. Chris laughs awkwardly before reaching to scratch the back of his head. The third man smiles at you.

"Welcome back, (F/N). It's good to see you back so soon."

You thank him softly as Trevor takes a step closer to you. He wraps an arm around your shoulders as he gestures to the men. “(F/N), this is Blaine Gibson. All three of us used to hang out together before the accident.”

He moves to the next man, “And this is of course Chris. He’ll join us for movies every so often but we don’t actually know what he does here.”

Trevor then gestures to the last male, “And this one here is Jon Risinger. I think the two of you hang out every so often to go to the gym or some shit.” He then throws you a grin, putting up a hand to hide his mouth, 

“But in truth I think you’re just throwing him a bone,” he jokes.

You open your mouth to protest the underlying meaning of the statement but Jon simply rolls his eyes, his smile not faltering for a second. Instead, he returns his gaze to you. “I heard about the accident. Are you settling in okay?”

“Kinda I guess,” You mutter, brushing back a strand of hair nervously as you notice Trevor step away to talk to Blaine and Chris. “It’s weird being back. I just got here maybe five minutes ago and it’s already a lot to take in.” 

“No kidding,” Jon says, “I’ve been here for years and I’m still trying to get used to everything.”

He lets out a laugh but it quickly fades off when he notices your worried gaze. “Oh but don’t let that discourage you or anything. I’m just joking around. I’m sure your memories will come back soon.”

You simply force a smile. He cringes.

“Sorry…”

“No, no it’s okay! I’m just...I don’t know what to think about anything right now.”

“Well hey, if you ever need anything, you’re more than welcome to come talk to me. If you want, we can meet sometime this week and go for a run? Maybe it’ll help jog some memories.”

“Did...did you just make a pun?”

He sighs, “I did and I regret it.”

You laugh, “What? No, that wasn’t a bad thing. I actually kinda liked it.”

“Right. Well, as for right now, me and these two fine gentlemen here are actually on the way to film my game show. The theme is "lost in time". If you want, you’re more than welcome to sit in the audience and watch.”

You begin to feel a little better. “That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Jon.” 

He then looks down at his watch. 

“Well I’d better be going. I’ve got to run some things by the production crew before we start. See you around?”

You nod. He wishes you the best before heading off down the hall. You watch him go for a second before turning to look at Trevor. He’s talking to the other two in a hushed manner. They all look startlingly serious. 

“-you brought her back? Did you drag here against her will?” you hear Chris ask.

“What? No-”

“Wait,” Blaine interrupts, “Do the others know she’s here? The ones from...you know.”

You see Trevor stiffen and frown hard.

“No. And they’re not going to. The last thing she needs right now is to have them all over her. She’s staying by my side for the day.”

This causes the other two males to share a glance with one another. Chris smiles and Blaine eyes him over.

“Of course. And you’re sure you’re not keeping her around for a different reason, right Trevor?”

He glares at them but stays silent. 

The smiles instantly disappear from their faces. Chris looks between Blaine and Trevor. “Whoa, wait- are you serious-?”

Blaine suddenly notices you watching and bumps Chris, prompting the other two to look over at you. 

Whoops. 

You give a startled wave. “Sorry! I wasn’t trying to listen in-”

Trevor forces a smile back to you before turning to the others. “I’ll talk to you two later. I’m going to keep showing her around.”

Nobody tries to stop him. Trevor returns to your side and takes your arm.

“Let’s go check out your office,” He mutters, pulling you away from the group and down a random hallway. 

As you’re being dragged away, you look back at the men who seem to be watching you worriedly. 

“Well um...Nice to meet you guys! See you around?” You call.

They nod in unison. You bite your lip before moving back to walk with Trevor, feeling their eyes on you as you go.

Once out of their hearing range, you dig your feet into the floor. Trevor feels the tug and looks back at you. He lets go of your hand and you use it to cross your arms. 

“What the heck was that about?”

“What was what about?” 

Your voice gets caught in your throat and you don’t know what to say. His eyes flicker down at you and he sighs. He puts a hand to his forehead.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Those two just know how to push my buttons is all.”

You remain quiet. 

Trevor suddenly stops outside a door. He begins to smile again. “And here we are. This is where your office is.”

You look at the door. “My office?”

“Well no, not your office specifically. You work with a few other editors-”

A sudden scream from down the hall makes you jump. It’s loud and angry and even Trevor flashes his attention that way. There’s a brief pause before laughter suddenly erupts after it. You tilt your head, spotting the grey door not too far from the one you were currently standing in front of. 

“What the hell is going on in there?” You ask, trying to calm your startled heart rate. Trevor grimaces and begins punching in a code to the door in front of you. 

“Just some coworkers messing around.” 

“You’re not going to check it out?”

“No,” he says, “It’s best we avoid that room, okay?”

The door unlocks and Trevor tugs open the handle. He steps inside with you following suit. 

“Hey everyone, (F/N)’s here!” He calls, kicking some empty boxes out of the way to make room. 

You’re met with eyes from several directions. 

“What!” A girl stands from her desk and turns her head accusingly at Trevor, “You didn’t tell us she was coming back so soon!”

A man with longer hair looks up from his monitor, “Steff, it’s kind of on the downlow. Trevor doesn’t want the others knowing yet.”

The girl frowns. “Why not? They’ve been so worri-”

“(F/N), this is Steffie Hardy.” Trevor introduces as he shuts the door behind you, “She’s our social media manager.”

Steffie pouts at the interruption but when she faces you again, she’s smiling wide. 

“That’s Matt Bragg, one of the other editors. The one in the corner is Larry, main editor,” Larry waves from his desk, “The red-head is Sarah Weems, production manager.”

Trevor continues down the line for introductions, each member greeting you softly before he moves to the next one. You nod to each in acknowledgement while subconsciously hoping you could remember all of these names…There were a LOT of people in here…

Once introductions are done, a few members pull Trevor aside to talk about work-related matters. You take the opportunity to glance around the office. It was cramped but still large enough to maneuver around if you watched where you stepped. So you decide to try exploring. You begin to walk, not really knowing where to, until your feet stop you at an empty desk.

It wasn’t the stack of unopened cards that drew you to it or even the small vase of flowers with a “get well” stick in the center. In fact, you didn’t notice those things walking up. You instead find yourself focused on the small purple stuffed-animal resting on top of the monitors. You grin as you pick it up, feeling its soft fabric fur in your hands.

There was something about it. Something that made it feel important- which is strange considering it didn’t look expensive or hand-crafted. It just looked like some cheap ordinary toy.

But it was cute. And you liked it. 

When you turn around to show the others, they’re already staring at you. They’re silent and partly gasping. You freeze, worried you touched something you weren’t supposed to.

Trevor walks over to you. “I see you found your desk! I can’t believe you remembered that already.”

“What?” You turn around to look at it, “Oh I didn’t know. At least, I don’t think I did?”

You put the stuffed animal back on top of the monitors and pull back the roller chair. Taking a seat, you start looking around the desk for anything that stood out. There were some photographs in a small frame off to the side but it was just of your parents back home in Indiana. You glance toward the monitors. The desktop wallpaper was a simple star logo on a black background with the words “ACHIEVEMENT HUNTER” in block font. 

Nothing here really screamed your personality. Whatever that was. 

You hear movement from the other side of the room and glance over your shoulder. One of the other members approaches Trevor with a phone in his hand. What was his name again? Andy?

He pulls Trevor aside and shows him the phone, “Jon’s asking if you can do On The Spot with us.”

“What? No, I’m with (F/N) today. What happened to going on with Michael?”

“He cancelled.”

Trevor starts to shake his head when Steffie jumps up from her desk once more. “Wait, Sarah and I can watch (F/N) and show her around so you can go do that.”

“I don’t-”

“Yeah!” Sarah joins, “It’ll only be for a little over an hour right? You should do it!”

Trevor looks at you for help. You disappoint him by grinning, 

“I’ll be fine if you want to go. Who knows, they might help me remember something.”

“But-”

“Dr. Meed did say that I should hang out with friends,” You wave him off, “Really, don’t worry about me. It sounds like you’re needed elsewhere.”

His expression only says defeat. He eyes the two girls. “Fine. But I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

With one last look at you, he and Andy leave the room together. Steffie stands and stretches at her desk before moving over to you. 

“Ready to continue your tour around here?” Steffie asks. 

You stand to your feet and open your mouth to agree when something catches your eye on the far wall. You raise an eyebrow. She notices your confused expression, “What is it?”

You point in confusion, “Is...Is that a dildo on the wall?”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, what do you guys think? It's a decent start I'd say and yes, I know this isn't my typical FAHC/Reader type story but when I got the inspiration for writing it, I just couldn't help it. I don't believe I've ever written something so set in the present "real world" type setting so this will be interesting to not only write but see how you guys feel about it as well. Clearly, unlike the other two stories, this one will be a "choose your boi" type of story line (once again, something I haven't really written before). But hopefully it pleases you nonetheless! 
> 
> Updates should come out about as often as I do CoC.


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